An unexpected letter
by brigrove
Summary: The battle is over, but Professor McGonagall has a surprise for Hermione. And a long journey leads to a shocking discovery
1. Chapter 1

**Unexpected Letter.**

**Author's note:- This follows on directly from the ending of the main story Deathly Hallows (not the epilogue) when Harry went off to talk alone with Ron and Hermione.**

**My first fanfic since I was a young child, although a short in its own right, it is also effectively chapter one in the Ginny/Harry story I am writing, strange perhaps as Ginny isn't even mentioned in this chapter.**

**BETA welcome. (I probably don't need help with Britishisms as I am English.)**

**"Hermione, I have a letter for you," said Professor McGonagall, as they left the headmaster's study. She handed Hermione a plain envelope, obviously of muggle design.**

**"Who?"**

**"If you open it, you'll see," the professor replied in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, then, more softly, "You might want to open it alone."**

**But Hermione had already ripped open the envelope. "It's from my parents!" she gasped. She looked almost bewildered and the others could see tears filling her eyes.**

**"Perhaps you'd better sit down," said Professor McGonagall kindly. She led Hermione to one of the chairs and Hermione sat down without even thinking.**

**The professor turned to the others and said, "Come one. We'll leave Hermione alone."**

**"No!" said Hermione, rather more forcefully than she'd intended. "It's okay. But I don't understand. This is dated after I changed their memories..."**

**"Perhaps if you read it?" replied the professor.**

**"I... I can't," she said tearfully.**

**"All the things you've faced and you can't read a letter?" asked Ron, incredulously.**

**Hermione turned to him, looking hurt. **

**Ron winced. "I'm sorry, I didn't think. Would you... would you like me to read it for you?"**

**She nodded and held out the letter to him.**

**"Budge over," he said, and squeezed himself into the chair with her.**

**Momentarily forgetting that there were others in the room, Hermione snuggled into him and lay her head against him.**

_**"Our dearest Hermione,**_

_**We know you won't be expecting to receive this letter, but there are some things we have to say to you.**_

_**When that strange letter came that day, all those years ago, and then it was followed by a visit by that odd little man who explained that you were a witch, and would be able to go to a school for wizards and witches, it left us with so many mixed feelings. We knew you were special, although we also knew that every parent thinks that about their child. And of course, we knew that sometimes strange things happened around you. We were so proud to see you in your robes before you boarded that train for the first time, but we were also sad, because we knew that you were now part of a world we would never truly understand and could never really be a part of.**_

_**That was also mixed with a little fear. Not only was our little girl (you always hated it when we called you that) going away from us for the first time, but she was going into a world we guessed even then could be dangerous. Part of us wished dearly that you were just another ordinary little girl at school, although we knew you were destined for far more.**_

_**We never talked about the nightmares you had for a short time after you came back from your second year, so vivid that we contacted the school to find out more. To our surprise, just after you had returned to school for your third year, we were visited by your headmaster, that wonderful Professor Dumbledore. You'd told us so much about him, but he was so much more than you said and within minutes we trusted him completely.**_

_**He told us frankly how you had nearly been killed by that snake creature and did not hide that you would probably be in more danger. He understood in a moment how hard it was for us, to see you go off to school again, not knowing if we would ever see you again. He promised that he would do everything in his power to protect you, and your friends, but that he would also let us know how you were doing. You never knew, but your school reports contained far more than how you were doing in your lessons. He said that we had a right to know and that it would also make it easier for you if we understood at least some of what you were going through. **_

_**A few months before he was killed, he paid us a second visit and told us what was happening in your world. Many of the things happening in our world made a lot of sense after he explained. But it made us even more frightened for you. Then he said he had to ask us something. **_

_**He said that he didn't have long to live and that your friend Harry would have to kill Voldemort, but he could never do it alone. He said he would tell Harry to tell only two others and he wanted you to be one of those two. It would put you in terrible danger and he would not do it unless we agreed.**_

_**He left us for a few hours to decide. It was the hardest decision we ever had to make, to knowingly allow you to face such evil without even the protection of Dumbledore. Of course he had pointed out that if Voldemort won, nobody would be safe, especially those like you, who, he explained, Voldemort calls Mudbloods. But he also warned us that if you did go with Harry Potter, even we might be in great danger.**_

_**At first, we wanted to tell him no, the thought of you risking your life when you were so young, it seemed so unfair. We even thought of trying to stop you and take you away from Hogwarts. Dumbledore had promised that he would abide by our decision. But we realised that you have a destiny of your own to fulfill and that you would never be able to forgive us if we forced you to abandon your friends Harry and Ron. We had to let you go.**_

_**When you left us that last summer to go to stay with Ron's family, we wondered if we would ever see you alive again. It was so hard to say nothing, but apart from all the danger, the look in your eye when you mentioned Ron made it impossible for us to stop you. As we write this letter we have to wonder if you've realised yet that you are in love with that boy. I hope he deserves you, if anyone could deserve our beautiful and wonderful girl.**_

_**Before Dumbledore left us that last time, we told him frankly, that both you and he had told us so much. What if this Voldemort comes for us to get to you? He replied that he was sure you would think of something to protect us. As he looked at us, both of us knew what you would do. You would want to hide us and to stop us hurting, you'd want us to forget you.**_

_**We begged him to stop you. It was bad enough knowing you might die, but to be forced to forget that you ever existed, to never have had the privilege of knowing you, it was more than we could bear.**_

_**He asked us if we would trust him and what could we say? We had already trusted him with the most precious thing in our lives, you. He gave us something to drink from a silver cup which filled itself in front of us. Then he touched each of our foreheads and said something we couldn't understand.**_

_**He promised us that any charm you might make to make us forget you would not work, but that for your sake, we should pretend that it had. He also promised that those memories of you and of everything you and he had told us would be locked forever, unable to be shared, so long as the danger persisted. He did warn us though, that if Voldemort did find us, he might kill us to try to get at those memories. Somehow the thought that we might share your danger was comforting.**_

_**When we let you walk down the road that last time, going to see Ron and his family, I wonder if you knew that we were more proud of you at that moment than at any other time in your life. We knew that even if you returned, you would never be the same.**_

_**In case he does find us, we've sent this letter to somebody who Dumbledore said could be trusted to be given to you when and if the danger is past. We want you to know not just how much we love you, but how very proud we are of our only and completely unforgettable daughter.**_

_**With all our love**_

_**Your Mum and Dad.**_

**Harry had seen Hermione cry before when Ron had left them, but then she had tried to hide her tears. Now she just clung to a slightly bewildered-looking Ron as she wept.**

**"I have to go to them," she said, finally, getting up.**

**"Of course," said Professor McGonagall, throwing some powder into the fireplace and speaking into it. "Kingsley?"**

**When she'd finished speaking with the new temporary Minister, she turned and said to Hermione, "The International floo station is overloaded, so the Minister said to floo directly to his office and he will send you on your way himself."**

**Hermione turned to Ron. "I'll be as quick as I can."**

**"I'm coming with you," he answered.**

**"You need to be with your family," she answered sadly.**

**"Hermione. Darling," he began. That word and the warmth with which he said it made her open her eyes wider as she looked at him. "When I ran out on you both, I spent all that time wondering if I'd ever see you again, ever be able to tell you how sorry..."**

**"It's okay," she interrupted.**

**"Let me finish," he said firmly. "And every morning, when I woke up with you, my first thought was, would that be the last day I'd be with you. Would we both still be alive by the time we went to bed again. And I hoped that if one of us was killed, that it would be me because I couldn't bear to be separated from you ever again. I... I love you Hermione, and you'd better get used to the fact that I'm not letting you get away from me."**

**Harry thought for a moment that if the twins were here they'd be asking Ron who he was and what had he done with their brother. Thinking of Fred and George brought a pain so he almost fell. Luckily, none of the others noticed.**

**Professor McGonagall broke the silence. "That's settled then. I'll tell your parents, Mr. Weasley. They will understand. Oh, and Hermione, your parents are welcome to come back here with you. They have played their part in this war and need to know that they will always be part of our world. But it might be easier on your parents if you all come back by aeroplane and give them time to get used to having you again."**

**"Aeroplane?" asked Ron, puzzled.**

**"If you'd taken Muggle Studies as I recommended, Mr. Weasley, you'd know. But I'm sure that Hermione will explain." She handed them both some powder. "Say Minister's office. The wards will let you through to there."**

**Harry watched his two best friends disappear without a word to him and smiled. "It's really over, isn't it?" He felt a sudden chill for a moment.**

**Professor McGonagall just smiled sadly and said nothing. **

**With a nod to Professor McGonagall, Harry put the invisibility cloak back on and walked back downstairs.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A shocking Discovery**

**Author's note:- This follows on directly from my short story Unexpected Letter and is set just after the main story of Deathly Hallows (not the epilogue).**

**BETA welcome. (I probably don't need help with Britishisms as I am English.)**

**Harry walked downstairs intending to find Ginny, hoping she'd forgive him for disappearing again, even if it was for only a few minutes this time. He looked around but couldn't see her. Instinctively, he knew where she'd be and he made his way to where the bodies of the fallen heroes lay. Sure enough, she was there, knelt down by Fred's body, silent tears on her cheeks, her own body shaking as her mother tried to comfort her.**

**"How can we live again, after all this?" he heard her ask her mother.**

**"You just do," replied her mother sadly, remembering the first war. "You just do."**

**Ginny looked up suddenly, then said, "There's something I have to do. Come with me?"**

**She walked over to another heartbroken couple, the wife holding her son's head in her arms while her husband looked on helplessly.**

**"Mr. and Mrs. Creevey?" she asked.**

**Mr. Creevey nodded and his wife just looked up.**

**"I... I'm Ginny Weasley. I just want to say thank you."**

**Mr. Creevey shook his head, looking puzzled.**

**"Colin saved my life. And another girl. In the battle, I mean. I'm not saying this very well..." She took a breath. "I was bringing in an injured girl. It was during a pause in the fighting. But one of the death eaters saw me. He wanted to be the one to kill Harry Potter's girlfriend. I was holding the girl and I couldn't reach my wand. When the death eater said the killing curse, Colin jumped in the way. It gave me time to get my wand and the death eater turned and ran away before I could kill him. I'm sorry. I should have had my wand ready. I.." Ginny turned away, unable to continue.**

**Ginny and her mother walked back towards Fred. "Mum. I feel so guilty. About Colin, I mean. And most of this year, I've been hiding out. I should have been here, helping train them."**

**"Ah, there you are Ginny." It was Professor McGonagall. "Did Harry find you? I think he was looking for you."**

**"I can't. I don't want to see him. Ever." snapped Ginny with a sudden force that surprised everyone around her.**

**Harry couldn't blame her. She was right. This was all his fault. If he'd been quicker this might not have happened. If he'd told Neville not to call Dumbledore's Army, Fred, Remus and Tonks would still be alive. Ted would have a father and mother, George a twin. And Ginny and Molly wouldn't be looking as though their world had ended. It was Sirius all over again. He failed and others paid the price.**

**He almost ran outside, bumping into someone in his carelessness. Finally alone he broke down crying.**

**Twelve thousand miles away, the mood was happier as Ron and Hermione were knocking on a door.**

**"They're not here," said Ron.**

**"I can see that," snapped Hermione. "Sorry. I just want..."**

**"I know."**

**"What you doing there?" a voice shouted.**

**"Er. We're looking for Mr. And Mrs. Wilkins," called back Hermione.**

**"Not here."**

**"So we discovered..." began Hermione.**

**"At work."**

**"Work?"**

**"Clinic day," he replied, as if that explained everything, then, when it obviously didn't, he continued, "They help with the dental clinic at the school. Down the main road about a mile, on the left. Can't miss it."**

**Hermione insisted on walking to the school. She was tempted however, to use magic to get past the obstructive school receptionist who refused to let them in.**

**"At least get a message to them. It's urgent."**

**Perhaps the frustrated tears in her eyes changed the receptionist's mind as she softened. "Who shall I say it is?"**

**"Tell them Hermione's here," said Ron.**

**Less than a minute later Mrs. Granger pushed through the door and with a cry of "You're all right!" pulled Hermione into her arms.**

**A couple of minutes after that Mr. Granger appeared, took one look at his wife and daughter, still hugging and crying over each other, and walked over to Ron to shake his hand. "Thank you for looking after her."**

**Deciding that he didn't want to admit that he'd walked out on her at one point, Ron simply said, "Er. That's okay."**

**The afternoon had gone frustratingly slowly. At lunchtime, Mr. Granger had booked the four of them on the flight leaving the following morning, but both he and Mrs. Granger returned to the school clinic for the afternoon.**

**"You can get away without causing problems?" asked Hermione as they were eating dinner that night.**

**"Yes," replied her mother. "We decided to only help at various clinics, so that if... when you came back, we could return without leaving any problems here."**

**"I'm sorry I tried to make you forget."**

**"You're still alive. That's what matters," replied her mother. "And this Lord what's-his-name. He's dead?"**

**"Yeah. Harry killed him. Well, sort of..."**

**"Sort of?" asked her father. "He's really dead though, right?"**

**"Oh, yes. It's just. It's difficult to explain. In a way he killed himself."**

**Ron decided to clear matters up for her. "He cursed Harry, but it bounced back and killed you-know... Voldemort instead."**

**"So it's over," sighed Mrs. Granger.**

**"Yes," said Hermione and Ron together.**

**"And you young man," said Mr. Granger. "Do you still play chess?"**

**"Chess?" asked Hermione. "I never told you Ron played chess. Oh. Professor Dumbledore." She smiled.**

**"Actually no," replied her father. "He never mentioned it."**

**"Then how?"**

**"I think there's something you should know."**

**He got up and went to a bookshelf in the corner and returned with six books. He handed them to Hermione.**

**"Harry Potter? I don't understand."**

**"They're about Harry, and you two and Hogwarts. They're children's books. There's been a new one every year."**

**"I can see that, but how did they know? It's a breach of so many wizarding rules. How didn't the Ministry do something? Why didn't you tell me before?" Hermione finally paused for breath.**

**"We never really had anything much to do with children. We didn't really take any notice until this year, when the school had a Harry Potter day..."**

**"Harry's gonna hate this," Hermione replied.**

**"You can tell him," said Ron.**

**"Thanks a lot. I suppose I'd better take these to bed and read what they've written about us." Hermione got up and walked towards the stairs.**

**"Goodnight then," said Ron.**

**"Huh? Oh, yeah, goodnight."**

**Ron grinned. "Was she always like that?"**

**"Pretty much," said Mr. Granger, then called loudly, "Don't stay up all night reading. We have to leave early."**

**"She'll sleep on the plane," said her mother. "It's a twenty four hour flight."**

**"Twenty four hours?" cried Ron. "Just to get home?"**

**"Welcome to the real world," laughed Mr. Granger.**

**Hermione read four of the six books overnight. "I don't understand how this Rowling woman knew so much," she said to her parents while waiting for Ron to get up.**

**The books were soon forgotten in the rush to make the airport on time. Ron was totally bewildered by the airport and nearly ended up getting lost. Hermione had magicked him a passport. "What's this?" he asked. **

**"It's to show who you are, so they'll let you board the plane," she told him. "Let me see. Hmm, Oh no!" She waved her wand over the photo. "I forgot, muggle photos don't move."**

**"I look terrible," he complained.**

**"Don't worry," said Mrs. Granger, laughing. "You know what they say about passport photos. No, of course you don't. They say if you look like your passport photo, you're too ill to travel."**

**Hermione and her father laughed. Ron was still unsure if he'd been insulted or not, but soon forgot it as they finally boarded the plane.**

**As they plane rolled down the runway, Ron gripped Hermione's hand, getting tighter and tighter until she pulled her hand away,"OW!"**

**"Sorry."**

**"How can you be scared of a plane? You fly brooms all the time."**

**"Well I know what keeps them up," Ron replied.**

**"It's easy," she said. "Look." She pulled some paper and a pen from her bag and began to explain to Ron how a plane flew.**

**Ron, of course, wasn't listening, he was looking out of the window at the houses and things on the ground getting smaller and smaller.**

**"How high will we go? Isn't this high enough?"**

**"We'll go up to 35,000 feet," she replied. "The air's thinner and we'll go faster up there." She was trying not to laugh at his shocked expression.**

**Even the cartoons being shown on the screens in the plane didn't make him feel much better, but true to form, Ron did feel better after they'd been served with lunch, even if he did think it was disappointing.**

**After lunch the screen announced the children's afternoon matinee, a double bill. Harry Potter and the Chalice of Fire, followed by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.**

**"You never said there were films as well," complained Hermione.**

**"The fifth one just came out," explained her mother. **

**After the first of the two films, there was a good humoured argument about how much the actors and actresses looked like the characters they were playing.**

**"Ginny looks so much like Ginny," said Ron. **

**Hermione grinned.**

**"You know what I mean."**

**"Yeah," she agreed. "I wonder if Ginny knows she's got a long lost identical twin." Then she sighed and said bitterly, "the girl who plays me is far prettier than I am."**

**Tactful for once, Ron replied, "No she's not, you're wonderful."**

**She squeezed his hand. "Thank you for that, even if it isn't true."**

**"They make me look like a right pratt at times," he complained.**

**"You were a right pratt at times," Hermione answered quickly, then added, "You're not now, though."**

**"Thanks. I think."**

**"Dad. Can we get copies of these films? I think Professor McGonagall should know, and the Ministry."**

**"Sure. We'll stop off to buy the DVDs."**

**"The what?" asked Ron.**

**"I'll explain later," sighed Hermione.**

**"You're worried, aren't you?" asked Mrs. Granger.**

**"I don't know. It seems strange to see yourself like that, and they've got details only we knew."**

**They were in an even more sober frame of mind as they watched the other film, relieved only by the appearance of Luna.**

**"She doesn't look much like her," explained Hermione to her parents, "but she's exactly like that. She's got her character just about perfect."**

**"Yeah, she's really that loony," added Ron, to a glare from Hermione.**

**When they arrived home, while her mother was airing the house and her father was turning on the heating system, Hermione made a floo call to Professor McGonagall.**

**Seconds later, she materialised in the lounge. "What is it you want me to see so urgently?"**

**After introducing the professor to her parents, Hermione handed her the books.**

**"This is serious."  
"They've made films as well. We've got them here."**

**"Have you got something we can use to show these? I'd like to get Kingsley and some others to Hogwarts to see them."**

**"But muggle devices don't work at Hogwarts," said Ron.**

**"I AM the headmistress," she replied. "I can easily make a room with no magical interference."**

**"You'll want a large screen TV," said Mr. Granger.**

**The next day, Kingsley and a bunch of others from the Ministry, and most of the Hogwarts professors sat through all five movies with Ron, Hermione and Harry.**

**Harry's face was expressionless until the death of Sirius when he just looked desperately sad.**

**Hermione asked the Minister, "How did this woman know so much? She got more than that Rita bitch."**

**Professor McGonagall looked startled at her language, but said nothing.**

**Kingsley replied, "I don't know." He turned to Harry and asked directly, "Did you give your story to anyone?"**

**Harry just shook his head as Ron answered angrily, "Of course he didn't, and nor did we."**

**"Of course. I'm sorry. I had to ask."**

**"How did they get away with this for so long?" asked Ron, angrily. "Doesn't the ministry keeps tabs on what the muggles are up to?"**

**"When you told me yesterday, I looked through the files. The ministry only found out just over two years ago. I guess they hadn't been paying much attention to the muggles until one of the muggles with a wizard child told the Ministry."**

**"They knew two years ago?"**

**"They kept it secret. They felt no harm had come of it as the muggles treated it like a fairy tale."**

**"And they didn't investigate?"**

**"Think Ron," said Kingsley. "You think anyone in the Ministry would have been interested in the last two years? We were at war. There were more important things, and anything to do with muggles just got pushed aside."**

**Ron was still angry.**

**"I'm not saying they were right. I'm just saying how it was."**

**"It's okay," said Hermione. "He's just cross that so many people know what a pratt he was in our fourth year."**

**Ron opened his mouth to reply angrily, but Hermione had quickly smothered him with a kiss.**

**"So what do we do?" asked Harry.**

**"Firstly we try to investigate how they got so much information," replied Kingsley. "And we keep an eye on the next book."**

**Two days later they were on the train back to King's Cross. They'd decided they wanted to return with all those from school, though as Harry was becoming less talkative by the hour, Hermione wondered it if they'd made the right decision.**

**When they arrived, Hermione gave Harry a hug. "I still don't think you should hide away in Grimmauld Place on your own."**

**"It's my decision," he said in a harsh tone of voice that she hadn't often heard from him.**

**She let him walk away.**

**"He'll be alright, you know," said Ron.**

**"You think so?"**

**"Not really, no."**

**"Nor do I."**

**"I worried about him too," said Ron. "And Ginny. They're avoiding each other totally."**

**"I know. Your Mum told me that Ginny said she never wanted to see Harry again."**

**"Really? Why?"**

**"I don't know. But over the summer I'll try to find out."**

**"How?"**

**"In a library of course."**

**Ron grinned. "Promise me something?"**

**"What?"**

**"Don't ever change."**

**Hermione hugged him.**

**"You sure you don't want to stay with me this summer?" he asked her.**

**"I'd love to. But I owe my parents. Now it's over, I need some time with them. But I'm sure they won't mind if you come over as often as you can."**

**Ron grinned.**

**"I'm so pleased we're going back for our seventh year."**

**"I know. You would be."**

**"I told you I didn't mind you going into auror training as they'd offered you a place."**

**"It can wait a year. It'll be kinda nice to have an ordinary year at Hogwarts. It'll be weird being in the same year as my sister though."**

**"She must have studied really hard while she was hiding with your family, so she could go straight back to year seven."**

**"Mum said she did it to try to keep her mind off of Harry."**

**"Poor Harry. I wish he was coming with us."**

**"He wants to become an auror as fast as he can," said Ron. "And I think he's trying to avoid Ginny, too."**

**During the summer they met at the ministry and Kingsley informed them how they'd been spied on. Someone, they still didn't know who, had put a spell on the Hogwarts train, as it carried them home each year, so it literally read their minds.**

**Hermione and Ron had been angry at the invasion of privacy, but Harry just didn't seem to react.**

**"What's wrong Harry?" asked Ron.**

**"The aurors didn't accept me," he replied sullenly. "They say I have to go back to school for another year."**

**"But they acce..." began Ron until Hermione kicked his shin. "Well, that's good isn't it? We'll be together again."**

**Harry made a non committal grunt, then walked out, slamming the door of the office.**

**Ron turned on Kingsley. "How can you not accept Harry when you accepted me?" he demanded angrily. "He's got more experience than anyone."**

**"Look at him," said Kingsley quietly. "Do you think we'd be doing him any favours putting him in the field as he is right now?"**

**"Well..."**

**"He needs time to recover, and we felt the place he'd be most likely to do that is Hogwarts. There's people who care about him there."**

**"There's people who care about him in the Burrow," argued Ron. "Why not send him there?"**

**"He'd never stay and you know it. By saying he has to complete school, we keep him in a place where people care about him, where he can't hide alone all the time."**

**"But why is he like this?" Ron asked Hermione as they left the office.**

**"I've read about it," said Hermione. "Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome."**

**"Post what?"**

**"Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome," she repeated. "A bad emotional reaction after very stressful events. And I think he's got a lot of survivor guilt as well."**

**"Oh. So what do we do?"**

**"Give him time, and love him a lot, even when he doesn't want it."**

**"I guess we all owe him that," said Ron, then changed the subject, "Are you still coming home to dinner this evening?"**

**"Of course. Miss your Mum's cooking? How is she since I saw her last?"**

**"Better than she was, but it's hard. It's Ginny I'm worried about. I've never seen her so quiet. Even George is coping better than she is. I think Mum's worried sick about her, even thought about keeping her home from school till Ginny freaked out about that idea."**

**"What was it you said about us having an ordinary year at Hogwarts?" said Hermione sadly.**

**"Yeah. I know."**

**This story was a "prequel" to my new Ginny & Harry story, "Ginny and the muggles"**


End file.
